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The Anycubic Kobra 3 is a new-generation 3D printer that seemingly supersedes the not-particularly-old Kobra 2. With a build volume of 250 x 250 x 260, it sits between the Kobra 2 Pro and Kobra 2 Plus for size but distinguishes itself further with a bunch of new and different features.

First and foremost, it is exclusively compatible with the Anycubic Color Engine Pro (ACE Pro), the company’s four-filament-spool holding material changer. Revealed in April and available to order as of May 7, 2024, this is novel and new for Anycubic and means the Kobra 3 Combo (the company’s name for the bundle of both printer and ACE Pro) will be able to produce 3D prints using up to four colors.

It’s worth pointing out that the company only mentions multicolor printing, not multi-material, and the lack of footage of the machine in operation leaves questions like whether Anycubic’s software will allow you to configure multi-material prints, hanging in the air.

Anycubic claims the ACE Pro will dry the filaments as they print, eliminating moisture-related issues that may plague any old filament you throw at it. This goes a step beyond Creality’s recently announced CFS, which only goes as far as giving you temperature and humidity information, and Bambu Lab’s open-air AMS Lite.

Anycubic Kobra 3 / ACE Pro – At a Glance:

Build volume: 250 x 250 x 260 mm
Build plate: PEI-coated spring steel sheet
Provided slicer: AnycubicSlicer
Temperatures: <300°C hot end, <100°C bed
Filament compatibility: PLA, PETG, ABS, ASA, PET, PA, PC, PP,HIPS
Connectivity: USB, Wi-Fi
Dimensions: 453 x 505 x 483 mm Kobra 3, 366 x 283 x 235 mm ACE Pro
Weight: 9.2 kg Kobra 3, 4.6 kg ACE Pro

Judging by sizzle-reel-style videos (barely) showing the Kobra 3 and ACE Pro in action, it appears the system automatically detects and loads filament on insertion, much like the Bambu Lab AMS. However, rather than feeding and withdrawing each filament as needed, independent feed tubes come out of the ACE Pro, leading to a splitter assembly on the print head. We don’t think it’s be unfair to say Anycubic has styled the ACE Pro body on the AMS, and the printhead side of things on the AMS Lite. Anycubic says it is this way to ensure there are no filament tangles at loading and unloading.

Anycubic also says two ACE Pro units can be combined for up to eight colors in one print, though how this is achieved when the print head splitter appears to only accommodate four feed tubes – a limitation of Bambu Lab’s AMS Lite system – remains to be seen.

The core design of the Kobra 3 3D printer is not wholly new, with elements of the Kobra 2 sticking around including the use of steel rods and u-groove bearings for the motion system travel. An upgrade to the print head sees the introduction of “tools free” quick swap “full-metal” nozzles, with the company claiming it will offer “various nozzles in different diameters.”

Also present are all the trappings of a modern, Klipper-esque system with integrated accelerometers for measuring and reducing vibrations at high speeds, plus nozzle pressure detection to “ensure smooth extrusion.” The Kobra’s claimed print speed is up to 600 mm/s, marginally faster than the 500 mm/s claimed for the Kobra 2 Pro and Bambu Lab’s A1. As always, think of this more as a top speed (achievable only in certain circumstances); the implication is that the Kobra 3 will be rapid.

Hot end and print bed temperatures are current to most printers of this kind today: up to 300°C at the hot end and 100°C for the print bed.

We see two new elements on the Kobra 3’s print head and X-axis gantry, too. There’s a fixed arm that’s a dead-ringer for the Bambu Lab A1’s printhead-actuated filament cutter – basically, a spring-loaded razor blade inside the print head that is pushed in by an X-axis movement at filament change. Likewise, there is a “Purge Wiper” component, listed as in the box, and seen on the right side of the X-axis gantry. This piece alone hints that the Kobra 3 will function much like the Bambu Lab A1, with off-plate purging necessary for clean color transitions in prints.

There are ways to avoid this, of course. Besides opting for completely different tech like a toolchanger, adjustable purge volumes and purge object strategies give you a little flexibility in how you manage the waste. Anycubic hasn’t indicated any particular innovation here, so we aren’t holding our breath that the company has solved this much maligned aspect of single-nozzle multicolor printing.

Under the hood, the Kobra 3 will run a firmware Anycubic calls KobraOS. We have scant detail about this, other than that the company plans to make it open source after the printers begin shipping. This could mean one of a couple of things: full open sourcing, with the code open for the community and users to develop and contribute to the system’s improvement, something we’ve not seen with previous Anycubic products; or lip-service to licensing conditions and the release of the open-source components used for KobraOS – a scenario most likely if KobraOS is derived from Klipper.

The expected USB and Wi-Fi connectivity are present, as is the ability to connect to and send jobs to the printer via the Anycubic Cloud platform. Bed leveling is claimed to be all automatic, including the Z-offsetting, rounding the Kobra 3 out as an up-to-date entry to Anycubic’s lineup of FDM 3D printers.

All in all, the hardware sounds decent on paper. We’ve barely seen the thing in action, mind, not even during an hour-long live stream to launch preorders, which should give pause for anyone with their finger hovering over the “buy” button already. Ultimately, from where we stand, the Kobra 3 and ACE Pro will live or die on the software. We know past Anycubic printers have shipped before their software integration with the company’s cloud platform and app were ready, so the company has its work cut out to connect all the dots ahead of the Kobra 3 Combo shipping in the summer.

The Anycubic Kobra 3 Combo is available to preorder on the Anycubic website.

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